This invention relates to additives for hydrocarbons suitable as fuel in an internal combustion engine. In one of its aspects this invention relates to detergent additives for hydrocarbon fuels. In another of its aspects this invention relates to ashless fuel detergent additives for use in hydrocarbon fuel in internal combustion engines. In yet another aspect of the invention it relates to compounds containing a plurality of different functional moieties combining to produce superior ashless fuel detergent qualities.
With the advent of pollution standards for automobile exhausts it has become important that fuel additives not contain metal ions which tend to poison the catalyst in automotive engine exhaust converter systems. It is well known that amide, sulfonate, and amine functional groups can provide engine protection as fuel and lubricant additives. Up until now, however, additive packages have been made up of mixtures of several different compounds such as amides formed by the reaction of dicarboxylic acid with alkylene polyamines, amine salts of sulfonic acids or reaction products of a polyamine and a petoleum sulfonic acid. In this invention multiple detergent functionalities are combined into a single molecule by combining amide, isocyanate, amine and sulfonate functionalities together with long hydrocarbon chains which enhance solubility in fuels and lubricants.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide multiple detergent functionalities for internal combustion engine fuels in a single molecule. It is another object of this invention to provide a method for producing ashless fuel detergent additives comprising multiple functionalities in a single molecule. It is still another object of this invention to provide an ashless detergent fuel composition combining an ashless fuel detergent additive with a hydrocarbon suitable for use as fuel in an internal combustion engine.
Other aspects, objects and the various advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the specification and the appended claims.